Solar Surfers and Lost Feathers
by Obsidian Buterfly
Summary: Set five years after the events of TP, Jim is now the youngest captain in the history of Interstellar Fleet. On his ship's maiden voyage, an injured stowaway is discovered who claims to be on a journey to reclaim her memories...
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Hey everyone. Nims here with a new crossover.**_

_**A lot of people are familiar with Treasure Planet (one of my all time favorite movies) but there a many more out there who have no idea what the other half i.e. Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles is all about. So for this reason, I will try to write in a way so that even those who have not read the comics will be able to understand what is going on in the story. **_

_**Hopefully I'll be able to succeed, but be forewarned, that this is not one of my top priorities fics and will be updated only when my muse deems it fit to help me write this. That and your response to this first chapter will decide how often I will update. (Meaning for quicker updates, review more. ;) )**_

_**For now, I will let you go ahead and read this.**_

_**Enjoy!**_

The winds of the Etherium were serene and calm… and never before had they felt more inviting to the young man hanging on the riggings of the _NAD Starsighter._ He appeared to be no more than twenty years of age with dark hair framing a strikingly handsome face accentuated by mischievous blue-grey eyes. Currently, a wide grin played about his face as his eyes his eyes sparkled with joy, looking out into starlit blackness of space.

"Captain!"

The call caught his attention. The grin vanished from his face as he unwound his arm from around the ropes and jumped back on deck, landing in a half-crouched position with practiced ease. Straightening up, the twenty year old met the gaze of a stocky, blue skinned creature almost a head taller than him.

"Shouldn't you be in your cabin, pouring over charts or something?" the creature spoke with a cocked brow as it folded two of its four arms.

"I should be, shouldn't I?" the grey eyed twenty year old stuffed his hand into the pockets of his brown cargo pants. A warmhearted smile graced his lips as he turned back to star gazing.

James Pleiades Hawkins, at the age of fifteen had discovered the fabled loot of a thousand worlds. He had been admitted into the Interstellar academy the next year, on recommendation from Captain Amelia. At the age of eighteen, he had graduated from the same Academy as a space cadet and had risen through the ranks with such an amazing speed that only after two years of service, was given his very own ship, the _NAD Starsighter_, to command making him the youngest captain in the history of the interstellar fleet.

This was the maiden voyage of the ship whose name would one day become the part of a legend just like its captain and amazing crew. But that is the story for another time. For now, it was just a ship given to the youngest Captain in the history of spacers. For now… It was just, the _NAD Starsighter._

"Missing solar surfing?" the blue skinned alien asked.

"Yeah," the young man gave a small nod. "But, a captain does not have such privileges in his reach, does he now?"

"True," the alien nodded, leaning against the rail, resting his lower arms against the flat wooden surface. "But, hey," he grinned in a teasing manner, "that's what you get for being a prodigy."

"Jealous much?" the young captain cocked a brow playfully.

"You wish." Snorted the alien as he crossed his upper arms across his chest.

"Captain!" the slightly anxious voice of their ship's second mate, Nomick Flukas cut short the comeback that had been about to leave the brunette's mouth.

"Yes Mr. Flukas?" the young man along with the blue skinned alien next to him, turned to cast an inquisitive glance in the direction of the seven foot tall, grey skinned officer.

"Mr. Hawkins Sir," the burly, grey skinned officer stated in a brusque manner. "The crew has discovered a stowaway on our ship."

"A stowaway?" a single brow rose skeptically.

"Yes sir."

"Where?"

"She was found in the galley," the quadraped reported.

"It's a female?" the surprised voice of the blue skinned, first mate cut in before the young captain could respond.

"A human female to be exact, sir," Mr. Flukas answered. "She appears to be around the age of sixteen years at most. She is sporting several minor injuries and is currently unconscious. Most of them appear quite fresh although the doctor is treating them as we speak."

"Lead the way Nomick," the grey-eyed captain ordered.

"Right this way, Sir." Nomick Flukas turned and marched below deck. Wordlessly, the ship's captain and first mate followed.

The only sound in the room was the slow breathing of the unconscious girl, lying on the bunker in the doctor's cabin. A pair of grey eyes narrowed ever so slightly as the Captain's gaze settled on the frail looking form of the teenager.

"Our ship last docked on a spaceport one month ago," the blue skinned first mate questioned the cook while Jim observed the unconscious form of the young girl before him. "How is it that a stowaway was discovered just now?"

"She melted right out of the roof, sir." The cook said in a tone that simultaneously managed to sound defensive and incredulous.

"Melted right out of the roof?" uncrossing his arms, James repeated, turning his attention to the small sized cook. Now had he been any other man, James, or as his friends liked to call him, Jim, would never have even considered something of this sort a possibility.

But having traveled all across the galaxy in search of Flint's trove only five years ago, and discovering an intra-dimensional portal that could open a gate, literally anywhere in the universe, he decided to reserve his judgment for later.

"Very well," he nodded at the three other men present in the room. "Mr. Flukas, fetch B.E.N to keep an eye on the girl. You are to inform me as soon as she wakes up. No one else, except for the doctor is allowed to come in here till I say so."

"Aye sir." The grey alien gave a crisp solute before turning around and marching out of the cabin.

-0-

_**A/N: I forgot to mention this earlier, Gene is an OC that belongs to 'Wherever Girl' and I am using it on her permission.**_

_**So, now that that is out of the way, tell me… What do you think?**_

_**Good or bad? Did I manage to catch your interest or do you guys need to read a little bit more before deciding on that? Should I continue?**_

_**-Nims**_

_**PS. Just so you know, the next chapters will definitely be longer than this one.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Hey everyone. Here's the next chapter. **_

_**Enjoy!**_

"_Fay-san, I've got it!" A brown haired teen sprinted out of the doors of the temple. Only a couple of seconds later, a horde of stone statues followed suit. _

"_Well done Syaoran-kun," The addressed blond praised in approval as he joined the boy near the bottom of the steps. _

"_Where are the others?" The boy named Syaoran asked his companion._

"_Waiting near the gates," replied the blond. "Although I think, it would be better if you gave _that_ to Mokona for now." He motioned towards the soft white feather with pink patterns on it, which Syaoran was clutching in one hand._

"_Yeah, you're right." The teen agreed as he held out the feather to the small rabbit like creature which had popped out of the blond guy's jacket. The rabbit opened its mouth to several times its own size and sucked in the air, the feather flying out of the brown-eyed boy's hand and into its mouth._

_As the pair neared the gates, they witnessed a strange sight. A dark-skinned man was fighting off dozens of those stone guardians while at the same time protecting a green eyed brown haired girl._

"_Mokona, give me my sword." The boy ordered the strange rabbit like creature. Once again its mouth opened to double its own size and out popped a sword. Unsheathing the weapon, the boy rushed in to help the dark skinned man._

_The blond on the other hand, turned around to face the guardians following them from inside the temple. Ducking under the spear aimed for his head, the man kicked out and stole the weapon from his attacker, twirling it around to block the incoming attacks from other stone creatures._

"_Now would be a good time to get us out of here, Mokona." He spoke to the white rabbit._

"_Mokona Modoki is ready to go!" the small furry creature announced as the red gemstone set in the middle of its forehead flashed in the light of the sun and white magical wings appeared from its back. _

_It jumped up into the air, high above the fighting group and opened its mouth yet again. A colorful mist began to envelop the four, dissolving their body to nothing as the rabbit swallowed it all. Finally it popped out of existence, leaving behind a group of very confused stone guardians._

_But right before the group of four had vanished into the mouth of the bejeweled creature, one of the stone guardians had managed to stab the brown haired teen, in the leg, with its spear._

"Syaoran-kun!" with a loud gasp, the girl shot up in her bed. Beads of sweat rolled down her forehead as she took in huge gulps of air, her chest heaving with the effort.

"Ah! She's up!" She heard an unfamiliar voice exclaim from somewhere to her right.

Green eyes widened slightly as their owner's gaze fell upon a man who seemed to be made entirely out of metal.

"I must tell Jimmy." The metal man spoke once more as he ran out the door.

"Main kahan hoon?" _(Where am I?)_ The girl blinked in confusion as she took in her surroundings. She was in sort of room made entirely out of wood with a small circular window in one of the walls. The sky outside was dark, filled with thousands and thousands of stars. (_**A/N: the parts in italics are the translations in English)**_

Although for some reason, they kept swirling into beautiful patterns, seemingly zipping past the window. As though, the place was moving at very high speed.

"- her name was?" she tensed as soon as she heard another unfamiliar voice speak from just outside the door to this room.

"Err, no Jimmy, I didn't." it was the voice of the metal man that had answered. The door to the room opened and in stepped the metal man, followed by another man. The newcomer had a slightly tan skin and was dressed in a pair of loose fitting black trousers and a brown jacket. A light brown shirt was visible underneath.

"How are you feeling?" he asked her in a somewhat kind manner. The girl noticed that he had brown hair and bluish grey eyes. A golden earring hung from one of his ears, glinting lightly in the fluorescence of the bulb.

"Maaf kijye ga pr," The green eyed girl spoke in a soft voice. "Mjhay ap ki bat samajh nahi a rahi." _(I'm sorry but I can't understand what you're saying.)_

"Huh?" the grey eyed man exchanged a glance with the man made of metal. "What the hell did she just say?" the former asked the latter.

"I have no idea."

"Shayad Mokona hm say dur hai," she once again spoke in her weird language. "Isi lye mjhay ap ki bat smajh nai a rahi." _(Maybe Mokona is too far away. So perhaps that is the reason why I can't understand you)_

"Can you speak English?" he asked the girl.

"Mai ap ki zaban nai bol skti," the girl shook her head, her brown hair flying in every which direction at this action. _(I can't speak your language)_

"Great," The blue eyed man slapped a hand on his forehead. "My very first voyage and I get a stowaway who can't even speak."

"Well, technically Jimmy…" the metallic man started only to fall silent at one look from the twenty year old.

"Get Gene, will you BEN?" the young grey eyed man sighed quietly.

"Right away, Captain Jimmy, Sir."

"What's your name?" the man asked again.

"…" the girl remained silent.

"Sir?" a blue skinned, four armed creature stepped inside the room, startling the girl greatly.

"How many languages can you speak, Gene?" he inquired the minute he arrived.

"Fifteen." Answered the strange looking stocky creature as a look of surprise formed on his face.

"Check it out, if the girl can speak what you can or not?"

"What's your name, girl?"

"Mjay ap ki bat samajh nai a rahi." The girl shook her head once again with a sigh. _(I can't understand you)_

The creature's red eyes widened in surprise as he stared at the girl.

"Gene?"

"Jim, she's speaking in Clowese." The creature breathed.

"So you can understand what she said, then?"

"Most of it, yeah."

"Good," the bluish grey-eyed man nodded his head in approval. "Then ask her who is she and what is she doing here?"

"Ap ka nam kia hai?" the four armed creature addressed as Gene asked in a kind voice. _(What is your name?)_

"Sakura," the brown haired girl replied after blinking a couple of times. She could understand the strange creature but not the others. Did this mean he could speak her language?

"Her name is Sakura," he informed the other man.

"Sakura huh?" the man called Jim looked at her somewhat skeptically. "Weird name. Could she be from one of the colonies?"

"Maybe." Gene shrugged his right shoulder.

"Main kahan hoon?" she asked in a small voice. _(Where am I?)_

"Tm NAD Starsighter par ho," He blinked a couple of times before replying. _(You are on the NAD Starsighter)_

"NAD Starsighter?" she repeated in a confused voice. "Par may yehan kaisay pohanchi?" she mumbled to herself before her eyes widened as she realized something. She jumped to her feet, speaking in an urgent tone, "Mairay dost! Kia wo b yehan hain?" _(NAD Starsighter? But how did I get here? My friends! Are they here as well?)_

"Dost?" the creature seemed surprised at this revelation. "Ktinay dost thay tmharay sath?" _(Friends? How many friends were with you?)_

"Char," came her timid reply. _(Four.)_

"She says she had four other friends." He turned to Jim. "Should I conduct a search of the ship?"

"No. Get BEN to do that," a frown formed on the young captain's face. "You try to find out why she is here? Meanwhile, I'll go check on our cargo."

"Sure thing." He said as the grey eyed man turned and left.

"Wo kon tha?" the girl asked curiously. _(Who was that?)_

"Wo is jahaz k captan hain." He answered. _(He is the captain of this ship)_

"Oh. Mairay dost. Kia wo ap ko milay hain? Syaoran-kun, zakhmi ho gaya tha." She sounded very worried. _(Oh. My friends. Have you found them? Syaoran-kun had gotten injured.)_

"Nahi. Abi tk to aur koi nahi mila." He answered. "Hmaray jahaz k sb say kareeb tareen sitara takreeban aik maheenay ki doori par hai. Tm yehan kaisay pohanchi?" _(No. so far nobody else has been found. The nearest planet is at a distance of about a month from here. How did you get here?)_

"Mokona k zarye." She replied simply. _(Through Mokona)_

"Mokona?"

"Mokona mairi dost hai. Wo mairay safar may mairi madad kr rahi thi." She explained. _(Mokona is my friend. She was helping me out on my journey.)_

"Kaisa safar?" he questioned.

"Mairi yad dasht wapis lanay ka safar." She explained with a sad look in her eye. _(The journey to retrieve my memories)_

-0-

"What will we do with her?" BEN asked the young captain later that day, once Gene had reported what he had found from his interrogation of the girl.

The girl claimed to be travelling through various worlds in an attempt to retrieve her memories. Helping her along on this journey were a blond magician, a red-eyed ninja and a young archeologist as well as some sort of mutated talking rabbit.

While Jim might have been willing to consider the possibility of portals and wormholes, even believe in the existence of ancient Japanese ninjas, he was definitely not willing to believe in the possibility of magicians or dimension hopping mutant rabbits. Or having someone's memories scattered in the form of feathers, with the only way to retrieve them, being some weird inter dimensional journey, where the amnesiac person proceeded to absorb said feathers.

How ridiculous could an explanation get?

"Well," he sighed. "Her story sounds like a something out of a fairytale but there isn't much we can do about her presence at the moment. Our priority for now is to deliver the cargo to the research facility."

"Are we going to contain her in the cabin till the end of the voyage?" Gene raised his brow.

"Let her move about the deck and the galley," Jim replied with a shake of his head as he observed the map laid out on the table before him. "And inform the crew that they are not to harm her in any way whatsoever."

"Sure thing Jim."

-0-

_**A/N: So? What do you think now? Should I write more?**_

_**Please review and let me know.**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: So I finally got around to writing the next chapter. I hope it will be a fun read.**_

_**Just a little warning before you proceed. This chapter is not yet proofread so if you find any mistakes or typos, please let me know and I will fix them as soon as I can. (which might be a while but what the hey.)**_

_**Now, I shall ramble no further. **_

_**Enjoy!**_

A loud rumble was heard as the sky began to bulge outwards; it continued dropping towards the ground till it was in the shape of a huge droplet seemingly composed of the dull, dusty grey sky of the Badwan Spaceport itself.

With a soundless pop, the bubble burst open, revealing a group of three strangely dressed people.

One was a dark skinned man with spiky black hair and blood red eyes like the devil himself. He was dressed in a black armor, in one of his arms he clutched a Japanese katana.

Next to him, stood a blond man in his early twenties. This guy however wore a white shirt with long black gloves and a black pair of pants. He was casually resting a grey spear across his shoulders as he looked around in a curious manner. His face was set in a goofy grin but his blue eyes were calculative and sharp. It was clear that he was checking his surrounding for signs of danger but to the casual observer he looked nothing more than your average happy-go-lucky guy.

To his right was a seventeen year old boy, with messy brown hair and bright amber eyes. He was decked out in brown cargo pants and a black muscle shirt. Like his two companions he, too, was armed with a weapon; his weapon of choice being a gold hilted broad sword.

"At least we didn't land in a marketplace this time," the blond said cheerfully as he looked at his two other companions, his gaze then turned upwards, to the white rabbit like creature perched on his head. "Good timing back there Mokona."

"Hey…" he looked around once more, noticing the lack of something.

The panicked voice of the brown haired youth, however, beat him to stating it out loud. "Where's Sakura?"

"Not here, that's for sure," the dark skinned man answered in a gruff manner as he sheathed his sword.

"We have to find her," the boy said, taking quick steps in the direction that led to the opening of the street they were in. But his face was greeting the ground after only his second step. As it turned out, his right leg had given out under him when he had tried putting pressure on it.

"We'll go look for her as soon as we stop that wound from bleeding, Syaoran-kun," the blond man said as he helped the boy to his feet and led him to one of the wooden crates lining the wall nearby. "Roll up your pants and let me see that." He instructed the boy before turning his attention to the red-eyed man observing the scene from one side of the alley-like, narrow street.

"Kuro-tan, could you find some bandages for him?" the corners of his lips turned down in a frown as his eyes fell on the nasty wound on the teenager's leg. "And while I tend to his leg, Mokona, see if you can track Sakura."

"Mokona is on it." The bejeweled creature declared as it hopped down, on top of the crate seating the boy named Syaoran.

"Don't worry kid, we'll find her." the red-eyed man grunted when he saw the look of anxiety on the teen's face.

-0-

Sakura wiped the sweat from her brow as she placed the mop in the bucket and leaned against the side of the ship. A cool wind played with her hair, making her shiver ever so slightly. Looking over the, now cleaned, deck of the ship, a smile graced her lips.

Her mind replayed her conversation with Gene a week back, just a day after her appearance on the ship.

The grey alien had informed her of the Captain's choice and told her that she was allowed to roam about all over the ship, save for the Captain's cabin and the storage area. When she had asked about whether she would be required to do any work or not, the alien had answered in a negative.

But seeing everyone else working hard on the ship, Sakura had felt like a burden, so the very next day which was her third day on the ship, she had asked Gene to allow her to help out on the ship. After much insistence on her part, she had been allowed to do the chores otherwise reserved for the cabin boy. Thus she was placed under the ship's tiny cook named Stalk, who had way too many eyes and despite his initial impression, was actually a pretty decent guy.

Turning around so that she was facing away from the ship and looking out at the beautiful cloud shaped nebula, Sakura let her mind drift back to her traveling companions. Gene had told her that until their ship's primary objective was fulfilled, she would have travel along with them since leaving her by herself at a spaceport would be plain idiotic and till the object was safely delivered, they could not make any side journey's.

Her thoughts drifted to her companions and she knew that they would all probably be sick with worry by now. But thinking back on how they had escaped from the last world, Sakura couldn't help but be worried about the brown haired boy who had been injured during the escape, herself. Was he alright?

-0-

"Any sign of her?" The tan-skinned man pulled back a seat and settled in it, next to Syaoran. The boy was currently resting his head on his arms, his breathing rate slightly higher than normal.

"I'm afraid not." his blue eyed companion sighed softly as he mimicked his actions and seated himself on the boy's other side.

Tired brown eyes looked up to see the two adults, blinking a couple of times before their owner's mind actually registered who had arrived.

"Fai-san, Kurogane-san, did you find her?" he asked hopefully. Apparently, the boy had not heard them.

"I'm sorry Syaoran-kun," the blond man, Fai answered with a shake of his head. "But I don't think she is on this world."

"But how is that possible?" The boy shot to his feet, all traces of tiredness gone from his features. He swayed on the spot and it was only his red-eyed companion's quick reflexes that saved him from greeting the dirty tavern floor.

"Kid." Kurogane warned as he took in the boy's appearance. Instead of its normal honey brown shade, his skin was a pale yellow and his eyes had dark circles underneath them. There was sweat beading his face. The boy was exhausted, and running a fever. Despite that, and his injury, he had been searching for the missing girl, non-stop, for the duration of the entire week. And nothing he or his rather idiotic blue-eyed companion said would get the boy to rest.

He understood the teen's reasons for not wanting to stop looking because Sakura was still out there somewhere. All alone and on her own, in a new world. One which wasn't something a young girl like her should on in the first place. The possibilities of things that could happen to her were enough to keep him awake at night as well.

But that in no way justified his pushing himself to the point to such an extent.

"You are going to get some rest," the man said as he gave the boy a death-glare, daring him to protest when he opened his mouth. "The idiot and I will look for her in the meantime. It won't do her much good if you were to drop dead during the search."

Syaoran tried to say something but shut his mouth with a defeated sigh and nodded, lowering his head to avoid his mentor's gaze.

"Mokona can feel her presence," The white bejeweled rabbit like creature poked its head out of Fai's jacket. "But she's getting farther away from here. And her feather too."

"What are you trying to say Manju bun*?" Kurogane's eyes narrowed.

"I saw a lot of ships coming and leaving this place today." Fai interrupted Mokona before it could answer his question.

"It's a port you dumbass, of course there would be ships coming and leaving." He growled in irritation watching as the blond nicked a glass filled with some pale yellowish liquid from a passing server.

"I knew that Kuro-pi." He answered cheerfully, swirling the contents of his newly acquired glass before draining them in one go.

"Is that alcohol?" the tan-skinned man asked with narrowed eyes.

"Yup," he grinned, setting the glass down with a rather loud _thunk_.

"I swear it mage, if you get drunk again, I am going to leave your lazy ass behind."

"Aww… And here I thought I was finally loved." The blue-eyed man cried in mock sorrow.

"Cut the crap and get to the point." He growled, his patience for the day already stretched to its limits.

"Well, I was wondering that what if instead of landing on the planet like us," Fai started lazily, deriving his pleasure from teasing his short tempered companion in any way possible. "What if she somehow ended up on one of those ships?" he added quickly, feeling a bit guilty for putting his own enjoyment before Syaoran's worry when he noticed the look on said boy's face.

"She could be anywhere!" Syaoran paled.

"Mokona can still track her signal Syaoran-kun," Fai gave him an encouraging smile. "All we need is a means to get out in space."

"We're going to have to rent a ship," the boy said.

"Actually, we're going to have to go and look for supplies." He corrected, flashing him a wide grin.

"Did you already get us a ship?" Kurogane quirked a brow.

"Yup. The captain should be here in just about…" he trailed off, looking around searching for something. The noise level in the tavern dropped the minute the wooden half-doors at the entrance swung open and a man entered. Kurogane glanced in that direction, taking in the appearance of the newcomer who was almost just as tall as him but had a really wide girth. His orangeish skin tone and fat triangular nose instantaneously told him that the man was not human, well that and the fact that he was missing an eye, an arm and a leg. Well biological ones at least. In their place was what could only be identified as mechanical imitations. Fully functional mechanical imitations.

"Ah and there he is." Fai exclaimed in his usual cheery tone as he waved towards the newcomer.

-0-

_**A/N: So how was it? Loved it? Hated it? Whatever you thought feel free to let me know through your loving reviews which just so you know, make me write and update faster.**_

_**Sadly, there was no Jim or BEN or Gene this time but not to worry, they'll be there in the next chappie. I'm pretty sure all of you can already tell who the captain of the ship, Fai hired, is but still, care to take a guess?**_

_**Below is the explanation of a couple of terms I used in this chapter. Feel free to ask me if I missed any.**_

* Manju bun= a type of Japanese meat bun.

-kun, -san = honorifics normally added at the end of names by the Japanese.


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: Sorry for the awfully long wait but like I said earlier this isn't exactly at the top of my priority list. I write it whenever it strikes my fancy so… erm yeah. Anyhow, once again, this is not the beta'd chapter so read at your own risk. Though I'm pretty sure you won't find any glaring errors. ^_^;**_

_**Enjoy!**_

"What do you think, Gene?" Jim asked as he observed the auburn-haired girl hand out bowls of stew in the galley as Stalk filled them up for everyone. Unlike most captains, Jim preferred to dine with the rest of his crew instead of eating alone in his cabin.

"She doesn't seem like much of a threat." The alien responded.

"Thought as much," the brunette nodded, watching Sakura walk back towards Stalk to get more bowls. "So how are the language lessons going?"

"So you heard about that, huh?" Gene gave him a sheepish grin, taking his dinner as Sakura handed it to him. "Thank you." He told the girl before turning his attentions back to the captain.

"I _am_ the captain of this ship, what good would I be if I didn't know what my crew is upto?" He grinned.

"Aww, come on man. Do you have to rub it in my face?" the alien whined.

"What?" Jim answered a little too innocently.

"One stupid test. I failed one stupid test… I wonder what I did in my past life to deserve your pompous ass as my commanding officer?"

"Now now Gene, you shouldn't insult your Captain." Jim admonished his best friend in a teasing manner as he took the bowl from Sakura. "Thanks." He nodded at the girl, who beamed brightly, bowing her head in his direction as she answered him in a thickly accented tone. "You welcum Captain-san."

"You are welcome, Sakura," Gene corrected her as the girl straightened.

"Hai." She nodded enthusiastically at Gene with that bright smile still plastered on her face, though her cheeks flamed a little. She turned her attention back to Jim, repeating the motion of bowing towards him once, "You are welcum, Captain-san."

"Err…No problem." He replied, feeling a little overwhelmed by her fervor.

"She's like BEN in that manner," Gene laughed as the jade-eyed girl moved away from their table. "It takes a while to get used to her eagerness but I think she's a sweet kid."

"Hm…" he nodded thoughtfully watching the girl move and bow to the other crew members as she handed out their meals. Reverting his attention back to his friend, Jim dipped his spoon in the bowl. "Still no sign of those friends of hers?"

"Not aboard the ship, no." the alien replied.

"I see." He said, bringing the spoon to his mouth.

-0-

Syaoran's whole body felt as though it had been trampled on by elephants, his limbs stiff and his muscles sore and aching. His body itched slightly due to dried sweat and his throat felt like it was scraped on the inside with sandpaper as swallowed painfully. He licked his lips and discovered that they were dry and cracked, with a bit of blood clotting one split. Through hazy eyes he tried to take in his surroundings and realized he was in a cabin of sorts. The roof and the walls seemed to be made out wooden planks and there was porthole to his right showing a pitch black sky dotted with tiny pinprick like stars.

"Ah an' so deh lad finally awakens," he heard a rather loud voice boom jovially as the door to his cabin shut and a large man strode inside at the same time as Syaoran managed to push himself into a half sitting position. The sheet that had previously been covering his torso spilled into his lap making him realize that someone had taken off his shirt.

"How're ya doin'?" the man asked as he walked closer to Syaoran, the brunette's eyes widened in surprise as he saw the newcomer's right eye give a mechanical whir before turning red. A beam of that color shot out from it, beginning to roam over Syaoran's body as the giant of a man got closer. The amber-eyed teen had the strangest urge to hide under the thin cotton sheet that had previously been covering his body. Thankfully though, the eye returned to normal or rather its previous non-glowy form a couple of seconds later.

"Wherrre am I?" he asked in a scratchy voice, his tone slightly slurred as though drunk.

"Eh?" the man cocked his left brow before scratching his head with his right arm, which happened to be _mechanical_! "Aye, ya passed out before we boarded deh ship." He muttered, moving towards Syaoran's bedside, picking up a jug of and filling up a metal mug with water. Holding the liquid out for the brunette to take, he grinned. "Yer aboar' deh _Jolly Morph _an' we're headed out ta someplace ta look fer dat girlfrien' o' yers."

Syaoran who had been drinking the cool liquid rather hungrily, immediately turned red, spraying the water out in shock as he spluttered. "S-Sakura-hime is not my girlfriend."

"Sure she aint," the man laughed heartily, thumping the younger male lightly on the back as he coughed. "Here." He held out a refilled mug for the teen.

"Deh name's Silver," the man introduced himself, "I already know who yeh are t'ough. Syaoran, righ'?"

"Yeah," the teen nodded, looking around for his companions. "Umm… how long have I been sleeping?" he asked, pleased to find that speaking didn't hurt his throat so much now that he had drank some water.

"Ye've been out fer t'ree days." Silver took the mug from his hand and pushed him back into bed when the brunette made an attempt to jump to his feet. "Whoa dere lad!" he warned lightly. "As I was sayin'. Ye've been out fer t'ree days. Bes' not be jumpin' about so soon."

"But Sakura-hime…" Syaoran protested weakly.

"An' ya said she wasn' yer girlfrien'." The man laughed once again, the rumbling sound making his stomach bounce lightly every time he did. Syaoran turned completely red on hearing him say that. "Yer friends are tryin' ta track her down usin' Mokona. We'll set course fer her as soon as we get a direction. Fai said tha' it be bes' if ya stayed in bed fer now."

"But…" he started to say only to find that he was beginning to drift off, exhaustion taking its toll on his body, forcefully sending him back to dreamland.

"Sleep now, lad." He heard the giant say as the door shut behind him.

-0-

Jim shot upright in bed, vaguely wondering what his dream had been about since the sheets had been tangled in his legs from his thrashing about. Whatever it had been, had not been pleasant.

_No!_ the sight of a body falling to the ground with a muted thud, blood pouring from its wounds flashed in his mind's eyes for a second making him stiffen. What the heck had that been?

Shaking his head to clear his mind, Jim lay back down, untangling the sheets and pulling them back over his body as he turned on his side to go back to sleep. Almost fifteen minutes later, after a lot of tossing and turning, Jim let out a frustrated growl as he kicked the sheet off his body and sat back up.

Gazing at the digital alarm clock on his bedside, he noticed that it was only 3:00 a.m. Which meant it would be quite a while before any of the crew woke up. Sighing to himself, he pulled on his shirt before slipping into his casual brown leather jacket. Slipping his boots on his feet, Jim ran a hand through his disheveled hair and got to his feet.

He knew he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep now. Since he was nine years old, he had that problem. If he ever woke up in the middle of the night, going back to sleep was impossible for him. Knowing that it would be useless to try that again, Jim walked or rather staggered lazily towards his door. Peeping outside through the porthole his suspicions were confirmed that apart from one of his crew in the crows-nest keeping night watch, he was the only person awake.

Rubbing a hand over his face, he walked back to his bed, slumping on it as he wondered what he was going to do to pass the time. He had finished with all of his paperwork only yesterday. So he couldn't go and work on that. Suddenly an idea struck him and he sat back up. Walking over to the small cupboard affixed to the wall in one side of the cabin, Jim opened it, his grey-eyed gaze falling on a sleek, metallic board with a small jet like engine at one end.

With a reminiscent grin, he pulled it out, tucking it under an arm as he shut the cupboard with his other. Still grinning widely, he walked out on the deck, resting the board on the side rail. Waving his hand once at the alien in the crows-nest, Jim hopped on, his foot connecting with the small switch that turned on the engine before shooting off in space with a delighted whoop.

A pair of jade-eyes observed him silently from the crack of a cabin door as he disappeared from view.

_**A/N: At first I wasn't really sure about it but then I realized that it would be really fun to have a scene between Syaoran and Silver. Plus with him overworking himself to track down Sakura, this was the perfect opportunity. Would you like to see something of the sort between Jim and Sakura as well? Don't worry, I won't be pairing those two up since I really don't think it would work out for them. Plus, Sakura belongs to Syaoran (the only exception to this would be her being together with Fai in one of my fics but apart from that, she will always end up with Syaoran.)**_

_**Anyhow, did you like it? Hate it? Don't know what to think about it? Your questions, comments and constructive criticism would all be appreciated. I'm sorry if I messed up they way Silver speaks since I'm no pro at pirate-talk. Feel free to point out any mistakes if you find them.**_

_**Till next time.**_

_**-Nims.**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: Just to let you guys know that I have not abandoned this story. Here's a little something for you all to enjoy!**_

"An' yeh pull t'is lever here if ya want tah slow down."

"Are you sure you want me to steer, Silver-san?" The brunette asked, hesitantly placing his hands on the two gears that controlled the longboat.

"Ye'll be fine, lad." Silver laughed, "An' ferdeh love of Blackbeard, call me Silver. None of t'is honorific crap, jus' Silver is fine.

"Hai, Silver-san."

Slapping a hand to his face, the cyborg shook his head.

"There ya go again…"

"Sorry." Syaoran ducked his head in slight embarrassment.

"We're jus' goin' tah get a few supplies we're runnin' short on."

"Okay," the teen nodded in response to his statement as they loosened the ropes and lowered the longboat into free space. "But why aren't we docking at the port like last time?"

"Deh space leading taht'is place we're headin' is lined with t'ousands of meteors. It takes far too much time tah navigate t'rough it all. An' deh fact t'at we're on a tight schedule tah fin' yer girlfriend means we take dah longboat."

"Sakura-hime is not my girlfriend." He protested weakly, by now having realized that the older man would never truly believe his claims.

"Eh… She migh' as well be." The ex-pirate dismissed carelessly with a laugh as he motioned for his latest cabin boy to take the vessel away. "Ya act like a lovesick pup at dah mere mention of t'at lass."

Blushing madly, Syaoran could only nod his head once before he took hold of the controls and their longboat shot out of the ship's hull into space like a comet.

-0-

"Um… Jim-san, why we here?" the jade-eyed brunette walking besides the captain asked in a confused voice as she took in her surroundings with wonderment.

"Stalk need to restock on some of the supplies." Jim replied. After only a month of lessons, the young captain was surprised to learn that the girl could hold half a decent conversation now. Either Gene must have been a pretty good teacher, or this girl must be a genius to grasp a completely new language so quickly. "The others just wanted some time on land."

"And you?" she asked, training that curious gaze of hers on the young captain.

"Me?" Jim repeated in a surprised tone. "What about me?"

"Why did you, um…want to come?" She still struggled with her sentences sometimes, though.

"I just wanted to buy something nice for my mom."

"Jimmy! This antique place says they actually have one of Captain Flint's boots!" B.E.N. suddenly cried happily as he raced out of one of the shops and into another. ""You think Mrs. H. would like to have one?" He ducked his head out of the door for a second but jumped right back in without waiting for a reply. Shaking his head with a small smile, the captain continued on his way down the bustling streets of Agra Bazaar, the sixteen year old stowaway following him like a faithful puppy.

"This Bazaar reminds me of the one back home." The girl spoke wistfully as they passed a few stalls selling fruits from all over the galaxy.

"Really?" Jim inquired, interested in knowing about this mysterious girl's home world. From what she had told them, she had no idea where her home planet was situated. Apart from the fact that it was a desert planet with a huge towering structure in the form of a pair of wings being excavated in the outskirts of her city, she could not recall anything else that might have been helpful to them in any way. Something one of the vendors was selling a little ways ahead caught his eye and Jim hurried his steps to have a closer look at it.

"I think my Mom might like this. What do you think, Sakura? Should I get it?" Nothing but silence met his question. "Sakura?" Jim looked over his shoulder only to find that the brunette was no longer with him. "Shit." Dropping the item back onto the cart, the grey-eyed captain turned on his heels, racing back the way he had come. Cursing himself for having been too careless to notice whether the girl had been following him or not, Jim looked around, his eyes scanning the crowd for a flash of that unusual-shade-of-auburn mop. A couple of seconds later he spotted her, hanging in a limp heap from the shoulder of a rather burly and shady looking man that was hastily making his way through the crowd towards one of the side alleys. Cursing colorfully under his breath, Jim ran in that direction. This was definitely not good. He was the captain and he had been the one to suggest bringing the girl along to the Bazaar. She was his responsibility and if anything were to happen to her… shaking the thought out of his head, Jim stopped at the mouth of the alley, narrowed eyes scanning it quickly to see if he could spot the unconscious girl anywhere. It was just his luck that the girl he was supposed to be babysitting ended up in the hands of a molester.

"Step away from the girl." He warned darkly as he caught sight of the burly man bent over the unmoving girl.

"Mind your own business, squirt." The soon-to-be molester growled in response as he reached out with one grimy hand for the girl's borrowed shirt. She had had to borrow a few spare clothes from one of his crew seeing as her own fancy dress was not exactly something suitable to be worn on board a ship, especially when the wearer was supposed to be working around the ship doing tasks meant for a cabin boy.

With a cry, Jim barreled into the man before he could touch her. The man stumbled and landed on his side, having been caught by surprise. "She _is_ my business!" The brunette spat, planting his fist in the other's face.

The man growled, spitting blood on the grimy alley floor as he climbed to his feet.

"You're going to regret doing that, punk!" He hissed as he reached into his jacket and pulled out a switchblade. Flicking it open he lunged towards Jim, who jumped out of the way, narrowly avoiding having his guts sliced open. The academy placed a lot of emphasis on the physical training of all cadets. While there were many that slacked off after passing out, Jim had been amongst the few that kept up with his training. He had actually gone as far as asking one of the crew mates on a ship he had served on before gaining his captaincy to teach him how to fight. Then there had been the time he had spent street fighting back when he was still a troublemaker on Montressor. He was rather lucky his mother never found out about his little stints with those hoodlums on the streets. And whenever he _had_ been injured, he could easily pass it off as an injury gained from having fallen off his solar surfer. She knew how much he loved that, so she'd let it go with just a look of disappointment. Those days were behind him now, though. The only look he ever saw in his mother's eyes now was one of pride. She was proud of what he had become.

His time fighting in the streets and the strange training regimen that his Kyotian subordinate had put him through during those three months on that particular ship seemed to pay off now as he ducked under the slightly wild swipe aimed for his throat and punched the man in the gut. He twisted out of his reach as the man howled in pain and fury, attempting to hit him once more. Falling to the ground, Jim spun around his leg, knocking the would-be molester's feet out from under him. Giving the fallen man a feral grin Jim brought out his gun, aiming it at the assailant in warning. The sudden rush of adrenaline was making him grin like an idiot despite the seriousness of the situation. However, seeing the gun and the fact that the seemingly-harmless man actually knew how to fight, the other man turned tail and bailed.

-0-

"Silver-sa… Sorry, Silver…" The boy quickly corrected himself upon receiving a look from the cyborg, "what are we looking for exactly?"

"News, lad." The cyborg laughed, "deh bus'lin market's da best place tah pick up on what's goin around yeh. Den dere's deh bar too. Lot's o spacers go aroun' dere so we're bound tah fin' sometin' or another 'bout yer girl." Plucking a bag of _something_ from one of the vendor's carts, Silver dumped it into the brunette's already laden arms. "Alrigh' lad, t'is be deh las' of deh stuff tha' we need. Now, we're jus' gonna make a quick stop at deh bar an' ask aroun' if anyone's seen yer girl."

"Sakura-hime…" The cabin boy breathed as he froze in his steps. He had spotted her unconscious form in the arms of some man. Heart pounding against his ribcage, the brunette could only stare at her form in the distance as the bustling crowds hid her from his sight every couple of seconds.

Noticing something wrong when he did not hear the boy give his usual protest of the lass not being his girlfriend, the ex-pirate turned around. "Lad?"

Brought out of his stupor at the cyborg's words, Syaoran snapped into action.

"Sorry, Silver-san," Syaoran apologized as he emptied his load into his companion's arms before breaking out into a sprint in the direction he had seen the man with his beloved princess take.

"Sakura-hime!" he yelled, dashing around people, apologizing to anyone he knocked out of his way in his haste as he tried to keep the pair within sight. He had no doubt that the man had not heard him call out for the princess over the din of all the people around them. Forcing himself to run faster, Syaoran hastily turned a corner as he started catching up with the man and Sakura. He opened his mouth to call out her name again, only to blink when he noticed himself staring up at the brilliant blue sky and a pair of odd metallic cylinders with green grid lines all over their surface.

"Whoa there, buddy, you alright?" the man made out of metal said as he waved a hand in front of Syaoran's face.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, the brunette realized that he had apparently crashed into one of the people in his haste.

"I'm fine, sorry for crashing into you." He said as he jumped to his feet and tore down the street. He could not let them out of his sight. "Sakura-hime!" he cried out as he stopped at the end of the street and looked around the square. Where could they have gone? Noticing a raised dais-like structure in the middle of the square, Syaoran hastily climbed onto it, frantically looking around from his higher vantage point in hopes of finding the pair. But all he could see surrounding him was a sea of aliens in strange garbs, having even stranger faces and bodies. There was no sign of the man or Sakura. The brunette slumped down to the floor, landing on his butt as he let his head hang in shame and disappointment. He had lost her again.

And it was in this state that Silver found him fifteen minutes later.

"Wha' in deh devil's name went through yer head, lad?" the cyborg questioned as he sat down next to the boy, placing their purchases on his other side.

"I saw her." Syaoran admitted, his tone laced with disappointment, "but then I crashed into someone and lost sight of her. Now I have no idea where she might be. She was unconscious and some man was taking her away."

"O'. I'm sorry tah hear tha'." The ex-pirate patted him on the back gently. "We can look aroun' for dem or we could go back and get yer companions tah come an' help us look."

"… I think we should ask them to come as well." The boy sighed after a while as he stood up and started gathering their supplies. The cyborg watched him silently as Syaoran silently turned on his heels and began leading the way back towards the docking bay.

-0-

"Well?" Jim asked the ship's medic as the alien leaned over the unconscious stowaway. Mr. Brussel Norton, a rather stern looking felinid with grey fur and bright blue eyes, looked up from the girl to the ship's captain.

"Fatigue." He responded in gravelly voice. Jim had heard from one of his crew that the felinid had been caught in a lab accident during his training days. The fumes that had resulted from the concoction that had blown up during the experiment had damaged his voice box to make his voice sound as unpleasant as nails on a chalkboard, but the felinid was actually quite nice. "I'd propose bed rest and perhaps an increase in her fluid intake."

"Anything else?"

"She seems perfectly fine apart from that. If she happens to faint again, I'll prescribe her some medicines then."

"Alright. Thank you, doctor."

"Just doing my job, Captain." The male felinid smiled as he grabbed his things and retreated from the small room in the inn that Jim had taken up residence in while they were in port. The young captain sighed as he took up the seat that the doctor had been occupying only moments before. His gaze took in the unconscious girl's peaceful face for a while before he turned his attention to the window, staring at the brilliant sunset outside.

In four hours' time, they'd be heading out again. Gene and a few of his most trusted crewmates had stayed behind on the ship to guard their cargo. It was imperative that they delivered the precious object to the research facility as soon as possible. If pirates were to catch wind of the object currently aboard his ship, swarms upon swarms of them would come racing from all directions. And as it was, despite the utmost secrecy, information like this had a way of getting out.

"Jim, is Sakura still sleeping?" B.E.N cried as he burst through the door, his arms laden with useless knick-knacks. "I got something for her, too, but if she's resting I guess I'll come back later. Oh, by the way, before I forget, Jimmy, I crashed into this young boy earlier today. Poor guy, he looked a right mess I tell you. He was screaming for some girl as he ran away. Now that I think about it though… it almost sounded like Sakura's name. Only it was longer. Sakuraime or something. I wonder who he could be looking for."

"… Sakuraime?" Jim raised a brow as he looked at the robot skeptically.

"That's what it sounded like." The robot shrugged carelessly, "or maybe it was Sakurahime. Or Sakurahime."

"Sakura-hime?" Jim offered.

"Yes!" the robotic electronic navigation unit exclaimed in triumph, "That sounded exactly like what that boy said!"

"B.E.N." Jim asked seriously as something occurred to him, "when did you say you crashed into this boy?"

"A few hours ago." B.E.N replied, "I still had not found anything for Mrs. H. so I decided I would look around some more. That shop that said they had one of Captain Flint's boots, they were lying. The boot belonged to Captain Klint! He was one of those copycat pirates back in those days you know. But funny thing is, he never looted the ships carrying all the treasures. He went after the ones that were shipping food! I have no idea why anyone would want to steal so much food. It makes no sense if you ask me. The food would just rot away in a few days, and then where would they be?"

"Uhh, B.E.N.?"

"Yes, Jimmy?"

"Shut up."

"Okay, Jimmy. Shutting up now."

"What did this boy look like?"

"Frankly speaking, Jimmy, he looked like a cabin boy."

"Right," The captain sighed. "I meant his appearance, B.E.N., something that we can identify him with."

"Oh! Well he had brown hair and brown eyes. And he was wearing a jacket over a green shirt and cargo pants. Oh and he also had a red bandanna over his head. Kind of like the one Silver used to wear. And he was young, somewhere around Sakura's age, I'd guess. But I can't be sure. All you humans age so strangely I can't really tell how old anyone is just by looking at them."

"I see." Jim nodded as he looked back at the princess. The description of the boy fit the description of one of the girl's companions. And even though he knew B.E.N had his limitations, what with being over a century old, he had a hunch that the boy _was_ indeed around Sakura's age. Which would make him…Syaoran-kun? That's what the girl called the boy. But then again, "kun" was an honorific term prevalent in her culture. So probably his name was Syaoran.

"B.E.N., I want you to stay here with Sakura and watch her, okay?"

"Okay. Where are you going, Jimmy?"

"I'm going to look for that boy."

"Oh… you think that boy is one of her friends?"

"Yeah. And if my hunch is correct, he could still be out there with his other companions looking for her."

"Right you are, Jimmy. Hey! Think I can come along?"

"B.E.N., I just told you to look after Sakura."

"Oh. Right. Sorry. I'll just stay here then, watching over Sakura as she sleeps like a little baby. Not moving from this spot, no sirree. I'll just stand here and keep watch being the best ever watcher person you will ever meet."

"Uh, B.E.N.?"

"Yes, Jimmy."

"You just followed me out into the hallway."

"Oh. Right. Sorry, Jimmy. I'll just go watch her now."

"B.E.N."

"Yes, Jimmy?"

"You're still standing here."

Shaking his head as the robot ran back to the room, Jim started making his way out of the inn. He could only hope he'd be able to find the boy in time. They were supposed to head out in four hours. Delaying their departure to look for her companions would be unwise. The faster they delivered their cargo, the better.

As the young captain walked down the street with his head bowed, he completely missed a young brunette and his blond companion making their way across the square with a small, white rabbit-like creature perched on the boy's shoulder.

_**A/N: So do you think Jim might be able to find her companions before they depart once again?**_


End file.
